Toolpaths and Machining: Simulation

Brad Castle

16 April 2025 13:25

Carveco Tutorial: Simulation

In this tutorial, you’ll learn how to simulate toolpaths in Carveco Maker to preview your machining results before sending them to your CNC. This helps avoid costly mistakes by letting you verify the outcome and catch any setup issues early.

🔹 Basic Simulation Options

Right-click any toolpath and select Simulate Toolpath or Simulate All Toolpaths.
Rotate the 3D view to examine your results from different angles.
Use the Simulation menu to change materials, delete waste areas, or switch colors.

🔹 Waste Material Removal

From the Simulation panel, click Delete Waste Material to remove cut-away areas.
If it doesn’t behave as expected, use Pick Material to Keep/Delete to manually choose areas.

🔹 Changing Appearance

Toggle the Depth Color overlay to highlight machined areas in black or a chosen color.
Use the Material Selection to preview your design in woods like light oak or other finishes.
Right-click the simulation and choose Delete to reset your preview.

🔹 Simulating Individual Toolpaths

Right-click individual toolpaths or tools to simulate just that section.
Use the Simulation Control Bar for a live tool view that follows your machine’s path in real time.
This is helpful for inspecting tool changes and step-by-step movement.

🔹 Resolution Matters

Simulation quality depends on the model’s resolution — found under Edit Model Resolution.
Low resolution results in jagged previews, but doesn’t affect final machining accuracy.
Increase resolution for better visual feedback, especially when fine details are involved.

Z-Slicing

Essentially, Z-Slices refer to the way that Carveco analyses a 3D model at different depths to create a series of roughing passes around the 3D model surface.

Although the Automatic setting for Z-Slicing is most commonly used; Carveco lets you define the number of slices which will be used for the roughing operation of the Machine Relief toolpath.

✔️ Key Takeaways

Use Simulate All Toolpaths to preview your complete job quickly.
Use Simulation Control Bar to follow tools as they machine in real time.
Change material or depth colors to inspect different stages of the cut.
Always check simulation resolution for clarity — increase for more detail.
Remove waste material visually to isolate finished components.